


How About You Make Me?

by HomeForImaginaryFriends



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First years as third years, Getting Together, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 16:17:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15416787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomeForImaginaryFriends/pseuds/HomeForImaginaryFriends
Summary: “How about you make me?”  Hinata picked up another ball before staring down at Inuoka from across the gym, eyes intense and a challenge in the tilt of his head.  Inuoka suddenly felt warm all over, there was something blooming inside of him that felt akin to how he always felt facing Hinata down across the net, like here was his true rival and beating no one would feel like how it would feel to win against Hinata.





	How About You Make Me?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stacysmash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stacysmash/gifts).



> On tumblr stacysmash requested some InuHina "How about you make me?" for the five word prompt. I love InuHina but I think this is the first time I've written them in a story of their own, hopefully I did them justice!

Inuoka was doing a headcount as he stood by the door, trying to count up his team even as they moved all over the place.  He remembered training camp being much more fun before he had been Nekoma’s captain, but he wouldn’t give up the position for everything.  Even the mere thought of his team electing him captain made him feel like he was so full he was going to burst. Haiba had complained the longest about not being captain and Inuoka had agreed to a volleyball related competition where he basically slaughtered Haiba in all categories.  Haiba might have taken Inuoka’s position during their first year but that didn’t stop Inuoka from working even harder to gain his position back.

 

“Sou, you’re phone.”  Teshiro, their third year setter and also vice captain, said as he let out a loud yawn before holding up Inuoka’s phone.  “It was under my pillow.” Before Inuoka could tell Teshiro that he was actually sleeping on Inuoka’s bedroll, the other teen had rolled over and promptly fallen asleep.

 

Inuoka grinned to himself as he looked down at his phone, expecting a missed call from his mother.  Sometimes when he was gone too many days in a row his little sister panicked and needed to hear from him before bed.  It was with that thought in mind that Inuoka pulled up his messages and was partially surprised to see one from not his mother but Yachi from Karasuno.

 

Nekoma had managed to get a manager by Inuoka’s third year.  It was one of the players twin sister, but it still counted. All the captains from the training camp plus the managers were in a group chat so they could easily set things up, but Yachi wasn’t speaking to him from the group chat settings.  It was a private message that he pulled up.

 

_Can you meet outside the dorms?  Please._

 

Inuoka glanced at his teammates before announcing he had to go to the bathroom but by the time he came back he wanted everyone in their own beds and on the way to sleep.  Anyone still awake and caught on games or phones would be participating in all the punishments tomorrow, which quickly shut up the room and Inuoka exited with satisfaction.

 

It had taken him a while to figure out what kind of captain he wanted to be.  There was no way he could be sly and clever like Kuroo had been, giving embarrassing speeches that actually pumped up everyone and helped ease any of their anxiety or fears.  He couldn’t be like Fukunaga, who worked in tandem with Kozume and Yamamoto to make a powerful triple team. But there had always been one person Inuoka had secretly admired the most out of all the captains he had met or seen.

 

Karasuno’s old captain, the one who had helped bring them to nationals for the first time in years.  Sawamura was friendly and generally accepting to anything around him, he stayed cool and collected in most situations, unless they involved Kuroo then he seemed to fit the teenage stereotypes much more easily, but there was something undeniably scary about Sawamura when he got angry.  Inuoka liked that, enjoyed the thought of being the easy captain who no one wanted to cross.

 

“What’s wrong Yachi?”  Inuoka asked as he stepped out of the building they were all sleeping in to see Yachi pacing anxiously.  She had, for the most part, stopped being terrified of all the tall the muscular volleyball players. Some of the younger and more exuberant players still made her flinch back, but the older players tended to form a sort of force field around her.  No one ever attempted to approach Yachi when Tsukishima was with her.

 

“It’s Shouyou.”  Yachi wrung her fingers before tucking a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear.  She glanced behind Inuoka, over to the gyms. Inuoka looked over to see a light still on in one of them.

 

“He’s still practicing?”  Inuoka asked, only partially surprised.  Karasuno was still an unpredictable monster, and without Kozume Nekoma was having a more difficult time picking them apart but Karasuno had suffered losses of its own.  “Why didn’t you tell Kageyama?” Yachi pulled a face and Inuoka stifled a laugh.

 

Hinata Shouyou was mostly like water, he tended to flow and weave through most situations without flinching.  But even water could be dangerous if it was in the form of a midsummer storm in the middle of the ocean. Mostly Hinata was unaffected, but when he was wound up Kageyama was one of the few people that could make him completely explode.  No one needed a couple third years fighting, it would be bad for moral all around.

 

“I tried Tadashi but he’s already asleep.”  Yachi said apologetically, looking up at him with a silent question.  Inuoka took in a deep breath and willed himself not to blush because his crush on Hinata was a well known thing amongst the third years in every school.

 

Inuoka hadn’t even been aware of his own feelings until Yamamoto made a wild guess last year and Kozume told him to shut up.  Hinata made friends easily and he did it with everyone. When Inuoka had been replaced by Haiba he had done his best to remain positive and help out in every way he could, he knew it was nothing personal and he wanted Nekoma to have the best chance at nationals also.  It hurt that their best chance didn’t involve him, but he tried not to allow anyone else to see that. Hinata had asked for his number after their first practice match, and he had been one of the first people to text Inuoka that he was disappointed that he didn’t get to face off against Inuoka.  Hinata’s words had smoothed something left jagged in Inuoka, and they continued to message each other regularly.

 

During their second year Inuoka slowly began to realize that his feelings weren’t exactly completely friendly, or maybe they were too friendly.  It was fine though, Inuoka was excited to have his first official crush but he didn’t want to do anything about it. Volleyball occupied most of Inuoka’s thoughts and time, with trying to keep up with schoolwork so he could stay on the volleyball team taking second place.  He was satisfied with having a crush but he was also happy just being friends with Hinata, it’s all he wanted out of their relationship.

 

After Inuoka assured Yachi that he would make sure Hinata got in bed soon, he thought about those unrequited feelings that seemed to have bubbled up inside him even stronger.  He.was worried what they would do after high school ended. Hinata had ambitious dreams and as much as Inuoka would love to play for Japan one day, he wasn’t quite sure he fit in with the monsters like Ushijima and Oikawa, even Hinata and Kageyama.

 

Would Inuoka regret it if he never confessed?  If he even did confess than what would be the ideal outcome?  Would he want to date Hinata? Go out to the movies or arcade together, Inuoka could show him around Tokyo and Hinata could show him around the country.  They couldn’t hold hands out in public, Inuoka might combust at that, but he thought about sitting on the couch with Hinata, close enough that when Hinata drifted off he could lean against Inuoka.

 

Stepped into the third gym Inuoka took a deep breath as a ball slammed on the ground before bouncing off in a different direction.  Over the course of three years, Hinata had continued to grow by leaps and bounds, leaving those who didn’t give it their all in the dust.  His jump serves were powerful, though not as scary accurate as Kageyama’s. At least not yet, Inuoka had no doubt that given another year or two Hinata would give Kageyama a run for his money.

 

Inuoka knew Hinata was working through his issues the only way he knew how but it was late and Hinata was the vice captain of Karasuno, he couldn’t be seen breaking the rules on the first day of training camp.  It would set a poor president for the junior members. Karasuno had come up with more losses than any of the other teams and Inuoka knew that loss set heavily on Hinata’s shoulders. His receives were far better than they had been when he was a first year, but he was nowhere near Sawamura or their old liberos, Nishinoya, skill set.  It wouldn’t be an issue but their new libero was a first year who seemed to have a lackluster attitude when it came to volleyball.

 

That left a lot of pressure for the third years at Karasuno to pick up the slack, to guard the holes in their defense.  But it meant Hinata couldn’t be used to his best ability, which was offense. They were still doing the same thing where they were evolving rapidly, at a scary pace that left most in shock but for right now they were kind of a mess and Hinata had to spend most of extra practices teaching his juniors about proper form and practicing receives instead of polishing his own skill set.

 

“Hey Shou,” Inuoka called out, swallowing down his natural instinct to step back when Hinata turned those too intense eyes on him.  “It’s late, we should clean up and get to bed.” If his voice came out a little lower and raspier than usual, he blamed it on the long day and late hour.

 

“No.”  Hinata said flatly before turning back to do a run up for another jump serve, which landed out and made his shoulders stiffen even further.

 

Hinata was just as friendly and open as he was in first year, he used noises to explain emotions more often than not, he still struggled with school even though when he actually applied himself he tended to do well, and he bounced around each team like he fit in perfectly.  But there was always that insanely intense look he got about him that made most people take a step back naturally. Inuoka had even seen it throw Tsukishima off a couple times, and nothing bothered that guy.

 

“It’s time to stop.”  Inuoka said, putting more force into his voice.  He wasn’t use to ordering Hinata around, he never had to before because Hinata was happy to go along with whatever anyone else wanted.

 

“How about you make me?”  Hinata picked up another ball before staring down at Inuoka from across the gym, eyes intense and a challenge in the tilt of his head.  Inuoka suddenly felt warm all over, there was something blooming inside of him that felt akin to how he always felt facing Hinata down across the net, like here was his true rival and beating no one would feel like how it would feel to win against Hinata.

 

But this was different and much more intense than even that.  Inuoka found himself striding across the gym to do what, he wasn’t sure.  His hands came up without a thought as to why and he found himself cupping Hinata’s face between his hands.  He momentarily wondered if the calluses on his hands felt bad against the softness of Hinata’s face before that thought slipped away.  Hinata had grown a couple centimeters in the few years they had been in high school, but so had Inuoka. It left him towering over Hinata but he had never felt so much bigger than the other teen until that moment.

 

The ball Hinata was holding bumped into Inuoka’s abdomen, distracting him long enough for his mind to catch up to what his body had been doing, or had been about to do.  He quickly let his hands drop and took a step back.

 

“I’ll help you clean up.”  Inuoka said quickly, turning around as his face began to burn.  He couldn’t believe he had about to- he touched Hinata’s face! Without his permission!   _How about you make me_ isn’t an invitation to-to- _kiss_ someone!  Inuoka was going to have to change his name and move somewhere very far away.  Maybe Haiba had some relatives in Russia who would accept a poor, dishonored Japanese boy into their home.  He was a good cook and didn’t mind doing chores-

 

Something bounced off the back of Inuoka’s butt and he stumbled forward before turning to give an accusatory look at HInata, even though he had mentally promised himself that he would never face Hinata again because he had just tried to kiss him!  Inuoka could only make a noise of confusion and disgruntlement, but Hinata had always been able to understand him and now was no different.

 

“Did you nearly kiss me?”  Hinata asked, his hand already picking up another volleyball as if getting his future ammunition ready.  Inuoka’s butt smarted, but he was kind of glad Hinata hadn’t thrown it at his back. Inuoka had landed pretty hard on his back during one of the practice matches against Fukurodani.  Inuoka knew Hinata’s aim well enough that he knew how deadly his accuracy was, even just by throwing a volleyball. Hinata had purposefully aimed for Inuoka’s butt.

 

“I’m sorry.”  Inuoka apologized miserably because what kind of monster tries to kiss someone when they are visibly upset?

 

“Oh.”  Hinata looked down at the volleyball in his hand and if he wanted to throw it directly in Inuoka’s face, then Inuoka wouldn’t move and would accept his fate.  At least Hinata had lost that frightening intensity, his shoulders were relaxed once more. “You don’t have to help me clean up, it’s my mess.”

 

Inuoka felt like he had been punched in the gut because Hinata didn’t want him around and the worse part was, Inuoka knew why he didn’t.  Inuoka hadn’t even had his first kiss yet and if someone had forced themselves on him, he wouldn’t want to spend extended amounts of time with them either.  It twisted something awful inside Inuoka but he wanted to at least try and make it better.

 

“It’ll be quicker if there’s two.”  Inuoka stated softly and when all Hinata did in answer was shrug and began picking up stray balls, Inuoka took that as permission and helped clean up.

 

It went quickly and was completed in silence that weighed down Inuoka.  He wanted to apologize again but he didn’t know if bringing it up would make things even worse.  Hinata was hardly ever silent, even when he wasn’t directly talking to someone he was usually singing out his actions.

 

They walked out together and Inuoka let Hinata go through the door first, staying a step behind the other teen as they made the short trip back to the building where they were sleeping.  All Inuoka wanted to do was curl up in his bed and sleep, perhaps until training camp was over.

 

“Hey Sou?”  Inuoka turned hesitantly towards Hinata as they stopped outside the Karasuno room.  He could heard soft snores and even quieter talking coming from within. “You could if you wanted to.”

 

“What?”  Inuoka asked in confusion.

 

“Kiss me, if you wanted to.”  Hinata shrugged, his cheeks turning pink in the dim lighting of the hallways.  Inuoka’s heart pounded in his chest as he stared over at Hinata, felt his hands go clammy.  Hinata met Inuoka’s eyes before a slow smile covered his face, and Inuoka could have sworn it got a little brighter in the dark hall.  “If you ever get impulse to do that, or ask me out on a date or hug, if you wanted to. When you’re ready.” Hinata grinned before going into the Karasuno room and closing the door behind him quietly.

 

“Where have you been dumbass?”  Kageyama’s angry voice asked immediately, but it was clearly softer than how it had been when he had been a first year.

 

“Tobio people are sleeping.”  Tadashi’s voice said at a much softer decimal.

 

“Sorry ‘dashi.”  Kageyama apologized at the same volume.

 

Inuoka walked away, towards Nekoma’s room as his heart beat wildly in his chest.  It’s as if Hinata had seen all of Inuoka’s insecurities and worries, understood them, and then blown them away.  Inuoka didn’t have the courage to kiss Hinata, not just yet, but knowing it was welcome settled something inside Inuoka and made him fall asleep with a smile on his face.


End file.
